Please Evaluate Basement Trimwork

[Peter Elliott]

I will throw in a few. Since I do get paid to do this kind of work, my boss would have doc my pay for the day. No I wouldn't accpet it but I'm sitting at my desk, with a cup of coffee. (Monday Morn Quarterback).

Yes, like most said, it can be saved by a VERY good painter.

Point out few things, the case work around the door is nailed improper. Did not hit the inside bead where it will most likely cup. I suspect the surface of the door jam not flush with the drywall either.

The inside corners have a large gap, lot's of putty. A cope method is better off used. Most wall corners are not 90 and it takes a lot of time to adjust the miter for an odd corner.

The seat or shelf is cut short - nothing more than that.

I can admit, earlier in my years, I have made these mistakes and learned from others how to improve. Luckly, the mistakes then were on my own house and I ripped it off later on.

Trim work is not easy, don't let anyone fool you. Lot of forward thinking. Never leave it for the painters to fix, unless your the painter

[David G Baker]

I think the work was hurried and very sloppy. Visualize what it would look like if it was stained hardwood trim. Latex caulk will do wonders when you are doing your own work, your skill level is not up to par and the work will be covered with paint.
If your home is an older home there are many areas that need a skilled worker to do final trim work due to age and movement.
If the contractor subbed the job out he needs to replace the sub and re do the work, in my opinion. If this area is as bad as it looks, what else is bad that you can't see and maybe not safe.

[glenn bradley]

"Every joint looks like the ones pictured. I'm responsible for caulking and painting."

I began posting three times and had to remove them because I couldn't say much positive. Let me have one last try . . .

In a nutshell I would not expect to pay for that level of skill / quality or the labor required to remove the material so that the next guy can come do it right. JMHO.

[Don Bullock]

I agree with David. The squareness of the house may acount for some of the problems. That being said, my joints, even using my old 1979 Craftsman table saw for my miters, never looked this bad. Sure they could be covered with calk and paint, but this is work that someone is being paid to do. I'd suggest that you reject the work, or at least pay less for it because the painter will most likely charge more.

[Peter Lyon]

Personally, I don't think what is represented in the pictures is all that bad. I would call it about average for what passes as a mdf, paint grade interior trim job these days.

As a painter, I know can fill and paint all of those gaps to the point at which no one would ever know that they were there.

At least in the corners, I suspect that the main culprit are the sheetrockers who applied such a thick, uneven coat of mud that anything short of coping would result in open joints. It's also my guess that the job was bid on miter joints, not cope cutting.

[Ken Belisle]

I absolutely would NOT accept that trim as it is. He would either replace it or I would be detucting from the amount I owed him. Since you are the one who is responsible for caulking/painting, you are the one who has to make up for his errors. I would not pay him for that quality of work.

Just my opinion.............

[Daryl Brayman]

Good lord, this is painted trim in a basement. It is not fine furniture. Caulk the cracks, fill the nail holes, and paint it. After you get a couple coats of latex paint on it, it'll look fine.

It's attitudes like that that allow shappy work to perpetuate. My father nor his would have accepted this type work, why would I?

Regards, Daryl

[John Grossi]

Rob, I am wondering if this so called "carpenter" is a friend of yours, and maybe that is why you are not sure how to handle this. Look at all the nails in picture 2. This guy cannot possibly do trim for a living. I would figure the material cost and subtract it from the total amount. I would also be concerned with the rest of the work and would inspect it closely. I don't care even if it is a basement. That guy obviously has no pride in his work.

[Tim Lynch]

Picture 2... yes, maybe he's a roofer who wanted to work indoors for a while...

[Nancy Laird]

Short answer - NO. I don't care if it's in the basement, garage, or living room. This is a sub-par job by a trim "carpenter" who doesn't deserve the title or the money he's getting for the job.

Get with your contractor and make you do it over!!

Nancy

[Ted Miller]

gaps are WAY too large and remind me of my earlier attempts at trim work but in all honesty, caulk and paint will hide the mistakes from most people although i don't think anything will fix that terrible butt joint between the baseboards.

I agree with Frank 100% here and this guy is not a finish guy by any means.

My signature is my work so the way I leave any job its just like I am working on my own house, no slop or corner cutting hiding anything.

Did he tell you that he is new to this business, I would not be happy at all with his work...

[Greg Cole]

I would not accept that, no way shape or form.
Then again, I choose to do almost everything myself. so my "contractor" gets an earful sometimes too. That or "he" (me) winds up doing it over.
Either make the contractor deal with the trim guy, or send them packing, fix it yourself and deduct your time & materials & labor from what you owe the contractor.
The details of mitering versus coping should be discussed & agreed upon beforehand. If you don't specify... ya get what ya get.

$0.02.

Greg

[Keith Beck]

Latex caulk will do wonders when you are doing your own work, your skill level is not up to par and the work will be covered with paint.

My first attempt at putting up crown moulding is a testament to that!

I'm just glad that I decided to paint the trim in the room I installed it in. The rest of my house has stained moulding (including crown moulding) and after my crown moulding foray, my hat is off to the trim carpenter who did the original work. That guy was in a whole nuther league...

Keith

[Brian Dormer]

I'm an amature when it comes to finish carpentry (I have 2 basements, a bathroom and a kitchen under my belt), but I can and have done better than that. Those inside corners should be coped, not mitered. The joints have significant gaps. You don't show any ouside corners - but I'll bet if they don't have gaps - they will after the first winter. Thats just shoddy work.

The quality of the work is certainly sub-standard and, if it was mine - I would re-do it. (actually, I wouldn't have made many of those mistakes in the first place)

That being said - it COULD be made far less noticable with application of caulk and paint. But just because you are going to caulk and paint isn't an excuse to be sloppy.

My 2 cents - either get a big discount (you shouldn't have to pay for any of the labor on the trim, just the cost of materials) or have them redo it. If it was me - my preference woudl be to have it redone.

When you do work "for hire" - there is an "implied warranty" and a standard of "fitness of merchantability". If you had to take this contractor to small claims court, you would win hands down. Just take lots of pictures so the judge can see. And take copies of this thread.

[Rob Bodenschatz]

Thanks for all of your comments. To Jamie's point, yes, it's just a basement. However, for the $30K+ I'm spending on it, I do expect quality work. It looks like most of you agree that it is not.

I'm supposed to meet with the contractor today. He's been pretty responsive to other issues so I'm hoping that this goes well.